Smile. Swiss scientists have developed a transparent protective masks

The Swiss laboratory has created a new material for antibacterial masks that will allow us to see the face of a person, and it will be easy to breathe in them. It took two years to develop this material.

If the expression that the world after the COVID-19 pandemic “will no longer be the same” sounds too pathetic, it’s still difficult to disagree with the fact that the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has changed the way people live in different countries.

The most obvious example is the mandatory wearing of antibacterial masks, which by 2020 were widespread only in smoky regions of Asian countries.

Today, even in Ukraine, there are thousands of types of face masks with various designs and degrees of protection. But they all cover most of the person’s face, causing discomfort not only when unlocking the smartphone, but also during communication with other people.

Since masks will remain popular at least until the end of this year (and, possibly, forever), the other day Swiss scientists announced the creation of masks with completely transparent material.

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials and Technology have developed a new material for their HelloMasks masks, which are made from organic biomass.

The creators of the new material say that their masks are not only transparent, but they can also be breathed easily. According to development managers, HelloMasks also effectively filter the air if they are changed regularly.

This was achieved thanks to the technology of creating ultra-thin filaments of polymer fibers: an electric charge allows you to sew strands of these fibers at a distance of only 100 nanometers from each other, which is similar to the bandwidth of conventional masks.

Such material should provide protection against bacteria and viruses, while allowing comfortable breathing.

Development is especially important for people who have hearing problems, because sign languages require communication using facial expressions, which can not be done in ordinary masks.

It is important that the new material of Swiss HelloMasks masks does not remain only a research project: a team of scientists has already created their own startup, and is now setting up the industrial production of such masks.

According to them, transparent masks should appear on the market in early 2021 and they will be primarily available to health workers.

Source: nv.ua